Programs Focused on Diversifying Medical Pipeline

Lawsuit: University of Dayton Covered Up Football Team Hazing Claims

by Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — A new lawsuit claims the University of Dayton covered up allegations of hazing connected to the school’s football team by ensuring that a UD police investigation never reached local officials. Max Engelhart, a former UD student and offensive lineman, filed the lawsuit against the western Ohio school, its football coach and others […]

Woman Guilty of Embezzling $200,000 from Education Nonprofit

by Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. — A Eugene woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $200,000 from a nonprofit that promotes career and technical education programs for Oregon high school and community college students. The Register-Guard reports 74-year-old Thelma Clemons pleaded guilty to wire fraud Wednesday related to her attempt to cover up thefts that she carried out […]

Report: Housing, Food Insecurities on Rise for Community College Students

Audit Questions Luna Community College Hiring, Pay

by Associated Press

LAS VEGAS, N.M. ― A recently completed special audit of a Las Vegas, New Mexico, community college is questioning the schools hiring practices. The Las Vegas Optic reports that according to the report there were multiple instances of family members of the Luna Community College president and board members receiving jobs, promotions and substantial pay […]

Ex-Wichita State University Worker Files Discrimination Suit

by Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. ― A former Wichita State University administrative assistant filed a federal lawsuit accusing the university of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Vicki Huntoon said in the lawsuit that she was fired from the university because of her generalized anxiety disorder after two doctors diagnosed the disorder and she requested to work […]

University of Illinois Strengthening Ties with Mexico

by Associated Press

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois is strengthening its ties with Mexico through new academic and research partnerships. The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports university President Tim Killeen signed agreements during a trip to Mexico last week. He says they are part of the university’s efforts to diversify international student enrollment and increase its global impact. […]

University of Akron Calling for Buyouts, Recruitment Boost

by Associated Press

AKRON, Ohio —The University of Akron plans to offer voluntary buyouts to employees, increase recruiting efforts of international students and restructure its scholarship system to address a looming deficit and declining enrollment. University of Akron President Matt Wilson outlined a two-year plan last week to shore up the school’s finances. The university hopes to finalize […]

Lawsuit: University of Dayton Covered Up Football Team Hazing Claims

by Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio — A new lawsuit claims the University of Dayton covered up allegations of hazing connected to the school’s football team by ensuring that a UD police investigation never reached local officials. Max Engelhart, a former UD student and offensive lineman, filed the lawsuit against the western Ohio school, its football coach and others […]

Saint Augustine’s University, Bennett College on Probation

by Reginald Stuart

Two of the nation’s oldest historically Black colleges were placed on probation Tuesday by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), signaling the two North Carolina institutions continue to battle financial challenges.

Protests Bring Out Angry Millennials in Chicago

Arkansas School of Law Dean Ever Mindful of Native American Heritage, Mentoring

by Christina Sturdivant

When Stacy Leeds accepted the position of dean at the University of Arkansas School of Law, she made history. Since 2011, she’s served as the only known Native American woman to lead a law school in the country.

Guiyou Huang Named LSU-Alexandria Chancellor

by Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana State University-Alexandria has a new chancellor. LSU President F. King Alexander announced in a news release Tuesday Guiyou Huang will take over the chancellor’s post on Jan. 1. Huang is currently the senior vice president for academic affairs, dean of the faculty and professor of English at Norwich University, in […]

Protests Bring Out Angry Millennials in Chicago

Virginia Tech President Wants to Double Minority Enrollments

by Associated Press

BLACKSBURG, Va. ― Virginia Tech President Timothy Sands is calling on the university to double its enrollment of underrepresented minority groups over the next six years. The Roanoke Times reports that currently, about 12 percent of Tech’s students are Black, Hispanic or of Pacific Islander descent. Sands said during a board of visitors meeting Monday […]

Oregonian Analysis: State College Enrollment Diversifies

by Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — The number of Latino and multiracial students attending Oregon’s public universities has more than doubled in the past seven years, according to an analysis of enrollment records by a Portland newspaper. The state’s public universities collectively saw enrollment rise 5 percent from 2010 to 2016, largely because of an influx of minority […]

University of Illinois Strengthening Ties with Mexico

by Associated Press

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois is strengthening its ties with Mexico through new academic and research partnerships. The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports university President Tim Killeen signed agreements during a trip to Mexico last week. He says they are part of the university’s efforts to diversify international student enrollment and increase its global impact. […]

Diverse Conversations: What Professor Esolen Gets Right About Diversity

by Matthew Lynch

History professor Anthony Esolen recently came under fire when he penned an article for Crisis magazine that questioned the push for diversity at his workplace: Catholic institution Providence College.

Texas Program ‘Guarantees’ Technical Jobs After Graduation

Regents Name Richard Myers New Kansas State President

by John Hanna, Associated Press

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Kansas Board of Regents on Tuesday made Richard Myers, a retired four-star general and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, president at Kansas State University, promoting him after he served as interim president since April. The regents voted unanimously to promote Myers to president of the land-grant university in Manhattan, which […]

A female professor who was passed over as chair of the School of Mass Communication can pursue a retaliation claim against North Carolina Central University but not claims for sex discrimination or a hostile work environment.

Holmes Scholars: The Next Generation of Higher Education Faculty

Orlando, Fla. – When Saron LaMothe served as counselor for several K-12 schools in some of this city’s most impoverished areas, she used to pick up on cues from Black students indicating that they felt they weren’t meant for certain careers.

Sometimes, she said, the cues were explicit, such when top-performing Black high school students expressed that they felt they were “acting white” for wanting to take advanced studies and pursue certain high-status professions.

Other times, LaMothe said, she got the subtle sense that some Black students—often as young as elementary school—could not envision themselves as doctors or in similar professions

“And I would want to explore: Why is that?” LaMothe said.

LaMothe is getting the chance to explore those questions and others as doctoral student through the Holmes Scholars program in the College of Education at the University of Central Florida, or UCF.

The program, which has been adopted by several institutions of higher learning throughout the United States, helps prepare members of underrepresented groups for jobs in the professoriate.

Were it not for the generous funding provided through the College of Education at UCF and the mentoring and networking support provided through Holmes Scholars, LaMothe said, a Ph.D. and the prospects of becoming a professor would simply be out of reach.

“For me, personally, I would not be here if the College of Education at UCF did not say, ‘We believe in you and we want to fund you financially to pursue this degree,’” LaMothe said. “I would not be a Holmes Scholar. I would have to either find another university or find another career path.”

Dozens of Holmes Scholars and alumni from the program shared similar stories Wednesday as they gathered for their pre-conference meeting for the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, or AATCTE, which houses the Holmes Scholars program.

AACTE leaders say the Holmes Scholars program is one of the most vital initiatives helping to change the face of American academe.

“We know we need to nurture diversity within the professoriate within higher ed,” said AACTE President and CEO Sharon Robinson. “Our effort contributes to that diversity.”

The program’s positive reputation transcends the ranks of AACTE.

Dr. Orlando Taylor, a veteran higher education administrator who currently serves as Washington, D.C., Campus President and Chief Advancement Officer for the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, praised the Holmes Scholars program for making a “significant contribution to the nation by preparing the next generation of higher education faculty for the field of education.”

Since the program was established in 1991, more than 600 students have benefited, and more than 200 are now in tenure-track and leadership positions, according to AACTE.

They include individuals such as Dr. Jacob Easley II, Chair of the Education Division at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and president of the National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni or NAHSA.

Easley said the camaraderie and networking provided through the Holmes Scholars program and its alumni association is invaluable to minority professors working at mostly White institutions, where their views and issues may not be so readily understood.

“Outside of HBCUs, the number of minority faculty tend to be very small at most traditionally White institutions,” Easley said. “So it really does help you navigate multiple norms or multiple cultures at the same time.”

In 2009, Easley said, NAHSA began to pair current Holmes Scholars with alumni who mentor them for an academic year. The organization also conducts “tenure retreats” for advanced level scholars and early career faculty members to get on the path to tenure.

Carolyn W. Hopp, Lecturer and Coordinator of the Holmes Scholars Program at UCF, said the Holmes Scholars bring a critical voice to higher education.

Scholars who have worked in the K-12 arena, such as LaMothe, will play a critical role in improving the educational experience of children from families of lesser means, Hopp said.

“The voice of the professor of color is very crucial,” Hopp said. “The doctoral studies strengthen the voice.”

LaMothe said she hasn’t decided on a specific topic for her dissertation, but she is leaning toward examining the effects of “stereotype threat” on the academic performance and career aspirations of elementary school students. In short, “stereotype threat” is a phenomenon wherein individuals are anxious about potentially confirming a negative stereotype of their particular group to the point where it negatively affects their performance.

LaMothe believes that, by identifying how this phenomenon affects young children, it could illuminate ways to prevent it from affecting them later on in life.

She wants to target her research toward those who work the job that she used to work.

“I definitely want to inform the practice of practicing school counselors when it coms to the career aspirations of elementary school students,” LaMothe said. She is optimistic that by helping elementary school students that her work will eventually help students of all ages.

19 Former Medical School Workers Sue Dartmouth HANOVER, N.H. — Nineteen former faculty members of the psychiatry department at Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine have sued, saying Dartmouth violated their employment contracts and policy that entitled them to severance payments when it ...

UNLV Math Instructor Issues Apology about Immigration Posts LAS VEGAS —A part-time math instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, issued an apology after protests about social media posts he made saying he would tell immigration authorities about students in his class who are in the U.S. illegally.
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Scholar: Make Tenure Great Again The world is not flat; dinosaurs didn’t walk with humans; and White supremacy is built on a foundation of lies to preserve power and racial hierarchies.
If we are going to find cures for cancer, global warming and racism, we have to maintain the i...